Double Digits

Well, I finally did it! I completed my first 10 mile run this morning. There was something completely daunting about entering into the double digits, but I was determined to run every step of the 10 miles simply out of principle.

My alarm went off at 5:30am and I stumbled across the house bleary-eyed to get dressed. Luckily, I laid out all of my gear ahead of time so that I could just mechanically put it on. I grabbed my phone, keys and water (also strategically placed ahead of time) and hopped into the car to drive out to our rendezvous point.

We decided to run two 5 mile loops. Kasey set out water ahead of time at the 4 mile point so that we could hydrate at 4 and 9 miles. I was also heartened by the perfect weather. The digital clock outside of the bank that I pass on my way over read 61 degrees and there was virtually no humidity.

We set out at a nice, easy pace and the first 5 miles seemed to fly by. We've been running together for a while now, so we fluctuated between easy conversation and comfortable silences. I am happy to report that I didn't feel any discomfort in my legs at all in the first 5 miles. Actually, that limber leg feeling lasted until about mile 8 when I started noticing some tightness in my calves and ankles. Surprisingly, I didn't feel winded at any point in time (there are some decent uphill stretches) and once we hit pace, my legs seemed to carry me of their own accord with very little encouragement needed.

I think a big part of that was that I had completely committed to having a strong run this morning. The marathon is just over 3 months away and these long runs are really important for making sure that my legs are conditioned enough to make it. It took us about 1 hour and 40 minutes (that's including two water breaks and two bladder breaks) and we ended going faster than our training plan wanted us to, which was a nice confidence boost.

As I was driving home with the knowledge that the vast majority of people I know (my boys included) were probably just stirring in bed, I was filled with a sense of accomplishment. I still had the entire day ahead of me to organize, clean and decorate...and ice my poor battered feet.